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Eastern Falls in Five-Set Thriller to George Washington in 2024 Home Opener
9/6/2024 10:51:00 PM | Volleyball
Eastern is back on the court tomorrow for two matches on day two of the EMU Tournament
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team fell in a nail-biting five sets (25-19, 24-26, 25-14, 17-25, 13-15) to the George Washington University Revolutionaries Friday, Sept. 6, at home at the George Gervin GameAbove Center in the Eagles' 2024 home-opener.
The Eastern offense was paced by Kendal Bonney (Pioneer, Ohio/North Central), who finished with a career-best 13 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .444, and by Kaili Doctor (Mars, Pa./Pine-Richland/North Carolina A&T State), who had 10 kills while hitting .286.
Defensively, the Eagles had two players reach double figures in digs as Ava Siefke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Saint Ursula Academy) had 15 and Hannah Blaney (Saline, Mich./Saline/Rhode Island) had 12. From the front row, Angel Baylark (Burlington, Iowa/Burlington/Tennessee-Martin) contributed 11 blocks and Bonney added five rejections.
How it Happened
SET 1 | The Eagles grabbed the first set 25-19, propelled by a solid performance on the attacking end. Eastern Michigan put together a .552 attack percentage with 16 kills in the set victory. The Eagles ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the stanza.
SET 2 | Eastern then lost set two 26-24, tying the match at a set apiece. The Eagles dropped a back-and-forth set, losing in a stanza that featured eight lead changes and was tied 12 times. Neither team led by more than three points along the way.
SET 3 | EMU put the second-set loss behind and took a 2-1 match lead with a victory in set three. The Eagles led from the opening point on in the set to secure a dominant 25-14 set victory. Eastern ended on a high note, claiming its biggest lead, 11 points, to close out the set. The offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
SET 4 | Eastern Michigan couldn't finish off a four-set win as the Revolutionaries forced a fifth set with a 25-17 victory. The Eagles fell behind on the first point and never took the lead before falling in the set.
SET 5 | Eastern Michigan and George Washington went back and forth in the fifth, as they did all match. The Eagles fell behind on the first point and never clawed back into the lead, falling short in the final set, 15-13.
Match Notes
» Freshman standout Hatteras Welker (Sunbury, Ohio/Sunbury) set a career-best with three service aces in the match. She also paced the Eagles in the category.
» Anna Guard (Burlington, Ky./St. Henry District) recorded a career-best with nine kills in the match. She finished the match with 10 points, marking her third time eclipsing double-digit points in a match this season.
» Eastern fell for the first time this season when out-hitting its opponent this season (.248 - .239). The Eagles are 2-1 in 2024 when posting a better hitting percentage than its opponent and 6-3 in the Head Coach Kevin Foeman era.
» Ella Voorhees (Morgantown, W. Va./Morgantown/Southern Miss.) led Eastern Michigan with 24 assists in the match. The sophomore now has had three 20-assist or more efforts in 3-of-5 matches so far this season. She has also led the team in helpers in all five matches.
» Eastern out-blocked its opponent for the third time this season, as the Eagles totaled 13 total blocks to George Washington's seven. Eastern is now 2-1 when out-blocking its foe in 2024.
» Baylark had a solid effort with their second game in 2024 with double-digit points and blocks (13 points, 11 blocks). They recently set the EMU four-set match record with 12 total blocks against Valparaiso, Aug. 31.
» Taylor Smith (Pewamo, Mich./Pewamo-Westphalia) had a career-match across the board. The reigning Michigan Miss Volleyball had 19 assists and nine digs, falling one dig shy of her first career double-double.
» Bonney set a career-best with 13 kills on the night. Her 13 kills led the team as she also spearheaded the Eagles in hitting percentage with a .444 mark (Min. 10 TA). Her performance comes after she recently recorded a then-career-best 12 kills against IU-Indy, Aug. 30. The junior has led the Eagles in kills in 3-of-5 matches this season.
» Siefke recorded a team-leading 15 digs for Eastern Michigan. The 15 digs are a season-best and are three away from her career-high of 18 against Miami University, Oct. 27, 2023.
» Doctor had an impressive performance for the Eagles notching 10 kills. The sophomore now has three games this season with 10 or more kills.
» EMU matched its season-high with nine aces in the contest. Eastern had nine aces to the Revolutionaries' six, marking the ninth game in the Foeman era where the Eagles have out-aced their opponent.
» Eastern Michigan had a season-best 55 kills. It accrued more kills than that in only five matches all of last season, with its highest watermark being 64 against Central Michigan University, Sept. 26.
Historical Notes
» The match against George Washington was the third all-time meeting between the Eagles and the Revolutionaries and the first since 1988. The Eagles fell for the first time against George Washington and now have a 2-1 record against the Revolutionaires all-time.
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